January 13, 2022
Will the Climate Industry Move the Goalposts Again?
The international climate alarmist industry comprises a number of special interests. There are the activists, fundamentally anti-human and deeply disingenuous, demanding that billions of the global poor suffer and die in order that the planet be “saved.” There are the “experts” in pursuit of bigger budgets and “research” grants. There are the editors of the peer-reviewed journals, transforming “science” into a propaganda exercise. There are the bureaucrats massively…
December 16, 2021
Banning Crude-oil Exports Would Increase Gasoline Prices
Having floated a possible export ban on crude oil as a trial balloon last month, the Biden administration earlier this week abandoned the idea, as opposition emerged quickly from Democrats in oil-producing districts. But the mere fact that this proposal received serious consideration illustrates three eternal truths about Beltway policy-making. The first is the virtual certainty of unanticipated or ignored adverse…
November 24, 2021
Oil and Gas Should Be the Tie That Binds Mexico, U.S. and Canada
Thursday’s first meeting between President Joe Biden, Canada’s Justin Trudeau and Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador was a missed opportunity for North American energy. The three face many shared challenges, but energy, which currently divides them, could instead be a common thread that binds them together. Silence at the highest level sends the wrong signal;…
November 18, 2021
When Climate Is King, Perversities Follow
Back in the old days, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission took its mandate seriously — specifically, to provide: Economically Efficient, Safe, Reliable, and Secure Energy for Consumers . . . at a reasonable cost through appropriate regulatory and market means, and collaborative efforts. Translation: A stance of neutrality and objectivity with respect to the complex choices…
November 9, 2021
Will ‘green Energy’ Produce More Jobs? Three Experts Discuss
As Washington considers increasing incentives for businesses moving to a clean-energy future, one of the big questions is: Will the “greening” of the economy result in more employment or less? Examples of “green jobs” include workers who build electric cars; construction contractors who install solar arrays and charging infrastructures; scientists who design carbon-capture solutions; and…
October 29, 2021
Texas Must Show That the World Can Count on American Energy in a Crisis
Texas is at the center of a global energy crisis that is causing leaders around the world to warn of looming energy shortages. Texas relies on renewable energy backed by natural gas to fuel its growing electricity use, and is seeing both the benefits and challenges of being at the forefront of the global transition…
October 18, 2021
Would the Senators Please Remind FERC of Its Mandate?
Confirmation hearings can be bombastic and they can be banal. But there always is the option of reminding agency nominees clearly of the central responsibilities of their jobs upon confirmation, an important opportunity that now presents itself with the hearing October 19 before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee to consider the nomination of Willie L….
September 24, 2021
The Proposed Methane Fee: An All-downside Proposal
The Methane Emissions Reduction Act of 2021 has been proposed as a “pay-for” – a source of revenue – in the reconciliation infrastructure package. It would impose a “fee” on methane emissions from natural gas and petroleum production systems and related processes, but not on such emissions from agricultural and other operations. Accordingly, it is…
September 20, 2021
What We Really Know About Climate Change
The sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) continues a long history of alarmist predictions with the deeply dubious statement that human-caused climate change has now become “irreversible.” President Biden and many others have called climate change an “existential threat” to humanity; and Biden claimed in his inaugural address to have heard…
August 28, 2021
The Dubious Senate Proposal to Bail out Nuclear Powerplants
Costly economic distortions are an inexorable result of government bailouts for specific industries, the justifications for which are almost always deeply dubious. Consider section 3203 of the proposed Senate Energy Infrastructure Act. It would establish a $6 billion credit program over four years starting in fiscal year 2022 for nuclear electricity plants “projected to cease operations…